How I Met My Parents
by chibi blue mouse
Summary: Izzy knows she's not a normal girl, but after going to the Higurashi Shrine on a dare and jumping down into the well, she's about to realize just how different she really is. Rated T for InuYasha's language.
1. Chapter 1: A Weird Life

**A/N: I am really freaking bored right now, but I'm also really freaking busy. For those of you who read my story, "I'm a WHAT," this is sort of a revamp. I've had some new ideas, have been reading other fanfictions and re-watching the InuYahsa anime. Depending on how fast messages and ideas can be exchanged, I might be putting up a collab with the very talented Hyperpegasi called Inu-Kindergarten. I am working on updating my other stories, but the only reason I'm writing this one now is because I'm using my sister's computer and I know I'll probably be having internet on it tomorrow . . . I've been using my dad's computer lately. (No wireless. T-T)**

**So, without further ado, me no own so you no sue. :)**

Chapter 1: A Weird Life

Standing in front of the old well in the abandoned Higurashi Shrine, I stared down into the dark, deep depths, wondering if it even had a bottom. My hands curled around the rotting wood of the lip of the well as I leaned forward. What had that weird guy meant when he said something beyond imagination lay at the base of the well?

Oh! I'm so sorry! Forgive me. You're probably wondering who I am and why I'm standing at the old well anyways. How rude of me.

My name is Izzy. Well, everyone calls me 'Izzy'. I like the nickname personally . . . My real name sounds much more old-fashioned and . . . well I don't like it as much.

What do I look like? Um . . . I have long black hair that reaches around my waist when I let it hang loose, though I like it out of my way in a ponytail. I also have this really cool silver streak in my hair that's completely natural. It's not silver as in 'Ew! Grey hair!' either. It's actually silver. All my friends think my mom let me dye it. But I wouldn't color my hair for the world. I hate the smell of the chemicals.

Ah! But I'm getting off track. I guess I'm a pretty average height. I'm 5'4" or something like that the last time I checked. I'm not going to tell you my weight. You really can't ask that of a lady! I also have really interesting golden eyes. I don't know whether to call them golden or amber really. They're like the color of the amber that ancient bugs got stuck in I guess . . . except less orange? They're rather hard to describe. Oh and they change their color to brown twice a month. My awesome hair stripe disappears at that time too. And my ears become more rounded . . . Did I mention that my ears are a little pointed? Well they are. It's not too big of a deal, sure they're a little more . . . elf-like I guess, but everyone says it was just a strange birth defect.

Who's everyone? Well, there's my classmates, my grandma, my uncle, aunt . . . not my mom though. Whenever I ask, she just gets a sad, faraway look in her eyes as she stares at my bit of silver hair . . . I guess she's thinking of Dad . . . that slimeball.

I never actually knew him, but I think he was a slimeball. He got my mom knocked up with me and then he just leaves us! Sometimes I wish I could find him so I could kick his ass! My mom says he gave me something when I was born, but I've never seen anything. Heck, I haven't even seen a picture of him. It's really weird too. My uncle Souta has tons of pictures of his wife from when they were dating and stuff.

But you wanted to know why I was standing in front of the old well . . . Well, to tell you, you need to know a bit about my family and our history. My mother, uncle, grandmother, and great-grandfather (may he rest in peace), used to live at the Higurashi Shrine. I actually grew up there for the first seven years of my life . . . And then I strayed into the well-house to chase one of the cats that had strayed in there and . . . My mom freaked.

We moved rather quickly after that.

My family has always been so secretive around me as well. I can hear them in the kitchen while I'm up in my room and they're whispering away about me and some guy called 'Inuyasha.' My mom often starts crying not long after that guy's name is mentioned. From what they say however, I guess he died. Or they think he did. There's never a lot of certainty in their conversations.

Anyways, I'm getting off track again. Right, so ever since my family moved out of the Higurashi Shrine, people claimed that it's haunted. Even more so nowadays.

One of the more popular ghost stories circulating around my school is a silver haired, golden-eyed figure with two triangular horns growing out of the top of his head, his entire torso, arms and legs, bathed red in the blood of those who died in the Shrine.

Of course, now it's popular to dare others to spend the night at the Shrine. And . . . one of the people I absolutely hate most in the school basically called me a coward and dared me to do it. I hate that guy! Not that I AM frightened! Furthest thing from the truth! Heiji just makes me so MAD! His scent is infuriating.

Oh yeah, I can smell people's 'scents' . . . My mother for instance, has a really bright scent around her, like if sunshine had a smell . . . as well as something like a field of clover after a rainstorm . . . Also . . . salty . . . because she does cry a lot . . . My mom's scent is actually really relaxing. When she's not crying.

In case you hadn't guessed from my comment of being able to hear whispered conversations in the kitchen while I'm up in my room, I also have better hearing than anyone I know. This really kinda sucks in school because I'm stuck hearing at least three different rooms' worth of sound. From the scratching of the pencils on paper, to the whispers of students, even the lectures the teachers give! Through the walls I'm able to hear almost everything!

Oh yeah, I'm a sophomore in high school. I'm going to turn seventeen in about a month.

Anyways, you wanted to know why I'm standing in front of the old well. Well . . . it started like this.

I was walking home from school with my friends and they were being gossip girls as usual. I just listened to them, adding in my two cents every now and then, sometimes in defense of the poor soul whose ears were most likely burning and sometimes I'd add to the flame.

"And did you see Heiji in PE today?" Ami gushed, drawing my attention back from the birds that had just flown by.

"So HOT!" squealed another of my friends, Mai.

"So . . . _not_." I added in, glaring down at the sidewalk. Okay, Heiji DID have a decent figure but he pissed the hell out of me so I was never going to give him the satisfaction of ever saying that he was any sort of attractive.

"Oh, that's right . . . Izzy's in denial," snickered Kaori as she glanced over in my direction. Oh she'd pay for that comment. I positively glowered at her as she and the rest of my friends erupted into giggles.

"I am not! He's a stupid jerk! And he's so immature too! He actually DARED me to go to the Higurashi Shrine and spend the night there. And THEN, when I told him that I wouldn't do it because it's a stupid dare and I LIVED there before, my mom, Uncle Souta, Grandma, and I LIVED there before, do you know what he called me? He called me a coward!" I ranted, a growl starting to make its way up through my throat. I always growl when I'm angry. It's something I guess I got from that good-for-nothing dad of mine.

"Aw . . . Izzy's angry . . ." Ami said, hugging my shoulders.

"I'm pissed." I clarified, though I didn't really know what the heck the difference was between angry and pissed.

"You know," Kaori started, "if you really ARE scared to do the dare, Izzy . . . We won't think any less of you."

I could not believe what I was just hearing. Kaori! You're supposed to be my friend!

Before I could take a swing at my so-called 'friend,' who, by the way, was laughing her head off at my expression, a guy, dressed in a black, skin-tight tee-shirt, jeans, and a red baseball cap on his head, walked over. He would have looked normal except . . . he wasn't wearing shoes . . . and his hair was the exact same color and shade of the silver stripe of hair I have. And it was way too long for any self-respecting male to have in this day and age, but . . . he had ABS! Or . . . so my friends told me after he had passed us on the street.

I probably wouldn't really have remembered him much except . . . he had said something. And he must have been talking to me, but none of my other friends could have heard it.

"There's something beyond imagination at the bottom of the well at the Higurashi Shrine."

I swear I would have spent the rest of the day staring after him as he disappeared into the crowded street. However, I was brought back to the present by Mai shaking me back and forth a bit as she gushed about the muscles of the guy who passed.

"Oh em gee! Did you see his gorgeous eyes too?" Ami asked, holding her burning cheeks.

"His eyes?" I asked, rather confused by the whole thing, turning to look at my rather romantical friend.

As she looked at me, she seemed shocked by something and wouldn't answer for a few moments.

"They're . . . the same as yours."

So . . . with that highly confusing and emotionally conflicting episode earlier, I just couldn't keep myself away from the shrine. Oh yeah, one more thing happened before I got here.

When I got home after the mysterious guy passed us in the street, my mom was waiting for me and holding a really weird necklace in her hands. She said it was my dad's and she wanted me to wear it since she had placed protective charms on it to ward off unfriendly demons.

Yeah, my mom believes in demons. And she believes she has priestess powers. I think my dad abandoning her and me caused something to snap in her brain. But I put up with it, forcing a smile as I let her slip it over my head.

"Gee . . . thanks Mom . . ." I said as I looked at . . . was that a tooth on the necklace?

"I know you're not really into jewelry but . . . I want you to be safe."

Oh geez. How could I not wear the necklace after she said something like that in that teary tone of voice of hers that makes me feel guilty for even thinking of misbehaving?

"I'll be alright Mom. I'm a tough girl."

"I know you are."

Okay, why does it seem like my mom knows something I don't? It's frustrating!

Anyways, I snuck out after my mom went to bed and now I'm standing here . . . hesitating in front of the old well.

". . . Come on Izzy . . . It's just a quick jump into the well, a quick jump out . . . quit being such a scaredy cat!"

A deep breath in . . .

"Let's go!" I mutter to myself under my breath, launching myself into the well.

Well . . . the guy was right. I never could have imagined what happened next.

To be continued . . .

**A/N: Okay, first time writing a first person story. Is it good? Bad? I was able to add in dialogue near the end which is what I was hoping I could do after I found myself with no dialogue for the first page . . . But, please review. I'd like feedback very much. So should I try and continue with the first person or . . . just stick with a third person POV? I'll put up the next chapter when I finish writing it and when I can get internet for this computer. Maybe next week . . . I dunno. XP**


	2. Chapter 2: Demons and Denial

**A/N: Not much to say. But, I feel good about continuing this story in first person. I'm having quite a bit of fun writing this, so I hope you're having just as much, if not more, fun reading it. ^-^**

**Enjoy! I do not own InuYasha! Otherwise, it either would never have ended or it would be a much shorter story. XD I STILL haven't finished the manga. XP**

Chapter 2: Demons and Denial

As the blue light faded I found that I had gently reached the bottom of the well. Except . . . everything smelled so different! Instead of the stench of the city, the air smelled clean . . . not . . . polluted.

Deciding to figure out where I was, I jumped out of the well, landing on the rim. "What the . . .?" I was at a bit of a loss for words. Instead of the Higurashi Shrine, or any sort of modern scene, I was surrounded by trees.

Something was very wrong here.

Deciding not to waste anymore time in the odd forest that seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, I turned around and jumped back into the well.

"OH GEEZ! UGH! . . . Shit."

Did I mention I was expecting the soft landing from earlier? Yeah, well . . . I landed badly. My ankle rolled as I landed and I'm fairly certain it got sprained. First time I ever had to deal with an injury like that too.

"Ugh . . . ouch." I muttered as I gently poked and prodded the offended area. I could see that it was already swelling. Looking up I nearly swore again. Not only had I sprained my ankle, but I was still in that freaking weird forest!

Sighing I picked myself up and climbed out of the well, trying to keep off my injured ankle as much as it was possible.

Pulling myself over the edge of the well, I sat down on the grass beside it. The gravity of this whole situation was starting to sink in and I felt tears sting the corners of my eyes.

How was I supposed to get back home? I couldn't even get back to the Higurashi Shrine . . . And my mother! She'd have a heart attack when she checked in to wake me up for school! I couldn't even find her scen- . . . Wait a minute . . . Yes I could.

My mother had been here! And it wasn't a very old scent trail either! I could follow it easily!

With renewed hope, I ran through the forest, following my mother's scent. My ankle hardly twinged, I was so excited to be able to get back home. Other scents surrounded the distinctive smell that was my mother, but they hardly mattered.

My happiness broke off as an arrow whizzed past my head. I am ashamed to admit this, but I let out a rather high pitched yelp as I skidded to a stop.

"Halt demon!" A male voice I didn't recognize called out to me.

Demon? I looked around, not quite sure what was going on. They couldn't possibly have meant me . . . could they?

"Um . . . sorry . . . are you talking to me?" I asked, not quite believing what I was hearing.

"Come no closer to our village! Begone!" A different male voice, no less foreign, shouted out.

I felt something small and stinging hit my skin. Really, what were these people thinking? Plucking a grain of . . . I think it was salt, that had gotten caught on my green and blue striped jacket and wondered how they thought that this was supposed to scare me off. Yeah, it seemed to sting a little in my fingers, but it wasn't really an unpleasant feeling.

Brushing the rest of the salt off me, I looked towards where the voices were now whispering something about a person named Kaede and blessings and other such oddities.

"Um . . . excuse me? There seems to have been a misunderstanding." I said, putting on my most disarming smile. With a small laugh at the preposterous idea I clarified, "Just because I have a silver stripe in my hair doesn't mean I'm a demon." Seriously, traditionalists . . . can't stand something unusual. "I didn't dye it really! It's entirely natural coloring. I've always had it."

Now to get to a more important point.

"Listen, I-"

"If you're not a demon how do you explain the fact that you were running faster than any human could?" one of the two unfamiliar male voices called out.

I was doing what now?

"I . . . I don't think I was running any faster than usual . . . I know a few people who are able to keep up with my pace too . . . It's nothing demonic . . ." I was more than a little confused by these men, but back to the point. My mom's scent went past them, and they were stopping me from continuing.

"Anyways, I don't want to break any rules or anything, but I'm lost and I'm fairly certain my mother's in the direction you don't want me to go. So if you just let me pass I'll find her and be on my way back home. Okay?"

"There are no mothers of a demon like yourself in our village! Take your lies elsewhere!"

Oh that was it. I may have lied sometimes, but to be called a liar when I wasn't one . . . That raised my temper.

"Oh, just forget it." I mumbled and raced forwards, once more following my mother's scent. I heard the twang of a bowstring and, somehow, could see the arrow coming towards me slowly enough for me to dodge.

"Halt! Sound the alarm! A demon has come into the village! She's heading for Lady Kaede's house!"

They make me sound like I wanted to attack her or something. I've never even BEEN here before! I just wanted to find my mother and get home!

"HIRAIKOTSU!"

Something large, white, and spinning came at me, seemingly from out of nowhere!

It caught me right in the midsection and knocked me back, right into a tree. I had never felt such pain. I could have sworn I heard something crack as well . . .

I doubled over as soon as I fell to the ground. I couldn't breathe! A nasty coppery taste filled my mouth and I spat it out, my eyes widening as blood stained the grass underneath me, red. With a gasp, I found that my wind had returned but I soon wished it hadn't. My lungs were on fire! Every breath fanned the flames burning inside.

I barely registered the tears flowing down my cheeks as I curled up clutching my sides, breathing sharply through my teeth, hissing, from the pain. All I wanted to do was find my mother! I just wanted to get home! I didn't know where the hell I was and, I'll admit it, I was scared!

"Surely you needn't have thrown your weapon so hard, Lady Sango. She is but a child." A smooth tenor voice wafted into the air, and it seemed as though all my senses were both dull and flaring at the same time. I spat out more blood that had risen into my mouth. I felt absolutely horrible, but it seemed as though the attacks had stopped though I was still on edge, bracing myself for another blow. I could only stare down at the blood and grass beneath me, trying hard to keep myself from barfing.

"She's got at least some demon blood in her Miroku, and she didn't heed the sentries warning to leave this village. It's a good thing InuYasha and Kagome are in her time right now. For all we know, this 'child' could be looking to steal the Shikon shards." A female's voice, presumably the 'Lady Sango' the male, 'Miroku', had mentioned earlier, responded.

"She's got funny clothes like Kagome's though." This time the voice was closer and it sounded like a little kid.

Finding that the pain had lessened somewhat, I dared to look up. Standing a couple of yards away, a couple, I guessed it was 'Lady Sango' and 'Miroku', were looking at me. The woman was dressed in a pink and white outfit that looked like a sort of kimono. I was never really into the ancient stuff. I only studied enough to pass my history classes. I never really got into it though. On her back was a large white boomerang. I guess that was what hit me. She wore her hair loose though something in my gut told me this was not always the case. The male wore a set of purple robes and had a rosary wrapped around one hand. He held a staff in his other hand and his hair was pulled back into a small ponytail at the nape of his neck.

As I watched them I saw the man's free hand slowly slide over to rub the woman's butt.

A resounding 'SLAP' echoed a moment later, the monk now down on the ground with a large, red, handprint across his cheek. The woman had her hand up to where it last made contact with the man's face and she looked more pissed off than ever.

"He never learns . . ." sighed the child's voice. It sounded like the kid was closer than the couple and his voice came from my left. Looking to the side, I nearly lost my balance. It wasn't that he had a strange outfit either, something from the ancient history I really didn't care about, or that his hair was a spectacularly bright orange and was puffy and pulled up into a ponytail. No. He had paws for feet . . . and . . . a fox tail. A true fox tail was twitching behind him as he held his face in his hand from the inappropriate action of the man in the robes.

This was a little too much for me. "You . . . I've never . . . How can . . . What are you?" I asked, my breathing picking up pace as I stared, wide eyed at the kid at my side. Oddly, the beginnings of hyperventilation weren't hurting my sides and I was also surprised to realize that I barely felt any of the pain from that wound anymore.

The kid, or kit, looked at me with a puzzled expression. "I'm a kitsune!" he stated like it was horribly obvious.

Kitsune . . . meaning fox demon . . . tricksters . . . and he was a demon . . . demons did exist? That was impossible . . . It was impossible!

"That's not possible . . . demons . . . demons can't exist . . . they don't . . . they can't!" I was hardly aware of the words spewing out of my mouth. It had to be a dream. A horrible, horrible dream. When I jumped down the well at the Higurashi Shrine, I must have hit my head on a rock that must have been protruding from the wall of the well . . . It wasn't real. It couldn't be.

"Miroku! Sango! Something's wrong with her!" the obvious figment of my imagination shouted to the two dream people.

My vision blurred and blackness began to creep around the edges. The last thing I remember seeing were two fuzzy shapes rushing towards me before the blackness took me.

To Be Continued . . .

**A/N: HEY! Two chapters in two days! Not a bad job if I do say so myself. :3 The best part? Both chapters are relatively the same length. Alright, this one doesn't have as many words, and, yeah, Izzy's outfit wasn't exactly described, but I'll get to her outfit in later chapters. Blah. I enjoyed writing it. And if future chapters can continue coming as easily to my fingers as I typed, I will be one happy Mousey. Review please! Any and all feedback is welcome! =3**


	3. Chapter 3: Confusion

**A/N: Please remember that these chapters will only come up when I finish a chapter and if I am able to gain internet access on the computer I have typed this chapter up on. In other news, be on the lookout for another InuYasha story called 'Inu-Kindergarten.' It is an adorable collab written by myself and the talented Hyperpegasi. (I mentioned it in the first chapter.) We're still working out a way to get a collab account so we can both check the updates on it and such. **

**And now, please enjoy this next chapter! Disclaimer is in the first and second chapter. I'm not going to repeat myself anymore.**

Chapter 3: Confusion

When I woke up, I instantly knew that something was wrong. For one thing, I was not in my nice, soft, comfortable bed. For another, the scents were entirely different than the ones that should have been in my room! The only conclusion was, I was not in my room. And this was a bad thing.

"Shippo, could ye fetch some water from the nearby stream?" An old woman's voice asked.

"Okay Kaede!" a young, strangely familiar voice responded. I could hear some sort of fabric move and fall back into place and I assumed that 'Shippo' had left the room.

The name Kaede seemed familiar as well. I had heard it somewhere before . . . How had I even gotten here anyways?

I had snuck out to go check out the old well and prove that I wasn't a coward . . . and I jumped in . . .

My eyes shot open as I remembered everything. Shippo. His voice had been familiar because he had been the . . . the . . . kitsune. And the name Kaede had been mentioned by those two guard peoples who had shot arrows at me!

I threw off the rather itchy blanket that had been placed over me and quickly stood up, taking in my surroundings. An old woman, I assumed she was Kaede, stood between me and the exit to the . . . I think I was in a hut.

She did not seem at all surprised by my actions. "I see ye have awakened."

Man, she talked weird. What was she? A Shakespeare fan?

"Ye have healed quickly considering your wounds. No doubt it is a sign of the demon blood flowing through you."

Again with the demon stuff!

"Listen, old lady, I mean no disrespect but I'm not a freaking demon! I'm lost! I'm scared! And yeah, I heal fast, but it doesn't mean I'm a demon! I just want to go home!"

My voice was a bit more panicky than I would have liked, but hey, I did NOT want to be attacked again.

"I mean ye no harm, child. Calm yourself."

Okay, a little reassuring, and . . . I couldn't smell any sort of deceit on her scent . . . but I still wanted to go home. Still, I didn't know my way around, and perhaps it would be a better idea to get help than to continue to run blindly and get attacked again.

I sat down and crossed my arms, fixing the old woman with my most intimidating stare. I was not going to let her think that I had let my guard down. After all, I didn't know anyone here and I had already been attacked once.

The old woman's eyes widened as I continued to give my stare.

"The watchmen said ye had claimed your mother was in this village. Tell me, whose child are ye?" The woman asked, seeming more shocked than intimidated.

I blinked, losing the stare. The way she was staring at me was almost like she couldn't believe what she was seeing. It was a little disconcerting but . . . maybe this meant that she knew my mom?

"Um . . . My mom's name is Kagome. Kagome Higurashi. Do you know her?"

And now that I was a little calmer, I could smell my mother's scent in this hut too. I decided to keep this tidbit to myself though.

The old woman seemed dumbfounded.

"How old are ye, child?" she asked, seeming to try and wrap her mind around something. Truly, confusion was quite heavy in her scent.

"I'm seventeen. Why? Do you know my mom or not? I only came here because her scent led to this place." The stare was back in place. I felt like I was missing out on something.

However, the little boy with the fox tail and weird, paw-like feet reentered, now towing a bucket of water with him.

"I brought the water Kaede." He said, quite fixated on not spilling anything from the bucket.

Kaede shook her head and smiled down at the kitsune. "Thank ye Shippo." She said as she took the water from him.

This gave him time to notice that I was awake and sitting up.

"Hey! Are you feeling better? You had three broken ribs, you know! But Kaede made sure you healed up fine! I hope you aren't mad at Sango for attacking you. But we had to make sure you weren't going to hurt anyone. I'm Shippo! What's your name?" the little boy prattled on.

Blinking rapidly, still trying to take in that the kid had fox features and had just been speaking a mile a minute, I was able to stammer out an answer to his last question.

"I-I'm Izzy. N-nice to meet you Shippo."

"Izzy? That's a strange name." Shippo said, looking a little puzzled.

I shrugged. "It's not my real name. It's my nickname, and I like to go by it." I said, finding that even if Shippo was a kitsune, he really was an adorable little kid. I found a smile had made its way onto my face.

"What's your real name then?" Shippo asked.

Before I could answer, however, two people, whom I recognized as Miroku and Sango, walked into the hut.

"It appears as though the young lady has made a full recovery." Miroku said with a smile as he looked at Kaede.

"Um . . . Hellooooo . . . I'm right here you know." I muttered under my breath, frowning at the man. I really didn't enjoy being talked about like I wasn't there.

Shippo snickered a little, seeming to have heard my comment.

Sango approached me and I stiffened. Though she didn't have that giant boomerang thing, I was still wary of her. After all, she was the one who attacked me last night.

"Are you feeling better?" she asked, her tone much kinder than the one I had heard her use last night.

"Um . . . yeah." I said, blinking in astonishment. "Why'd you attack me in the first place though? I wasn't hurting anyone." I said, pouting a little.

Sango's smile tightened a little. "I didn't know if you were going to hurt someone or not. I apologize. I should have at least tried to talk to you first."

I blinked and then shrugged. "Well, you were trying to protect yourself and others. I can't really blame you for that." I said, looking away, feeling a little embarrassed.

As I looked away, however, I picked up bits of a whispered conversation between Miroku and Kaede.

"The child claims her mother to be Kagome." Kaede whispered to Miroku.

"That's impossible. Kagome's too young for that girl to be her child." Miroku stated, puzzlement laced into his voice.

"That may be, but Kagome comes from a time different from ours. Perhaps, this child may come from a different point in Kagome's life." Time? I was in a different time? And the way Kaede was talking about my mother was weird as well. What did she mean I was from a different point in my mom's life?

"Hmm." Came a thoughtful hum from Miroku. "If she truly is Kagome's daughter . . ." he trailed off and looked straight at me. I had turned my head at some point during their conversation and was currently staring at them, quite puzzled by their words.

Miroku cleared his throat. "Perhaps we can continue this conversation at another point. When there will be less chance of eavesdropping."

He knew! Somehow he knew that I could hear them! A tugging on my arm brought my attention back to Shippo, who had apparently asked me something and was now looking at me expectantly.

"I'm sorry Shippo, what did you say?" I asked, shaking my head a little to try and get the conversation out of my head.

"Well, last night, you said that demons don't exist. But I'm a demon, and you're . . ." he sniffed me a little, "probably half demon, so why would you say that demons don't exist?" he asked.

I smiled a little. "I'm . . . not used to demons. My mom's a human and my dad left us either before I was born or when I was very little and I can't remember him. I've always grown up around humans and I've never seen a demon before."

"Do you come from a different time like Kagome?" Shippo asked. "Kagome says there's no demons where she comes from either." He stated, not waiting for me to respond.

Now I REALLY had to ask. "Hold on Shippo. What do you mean, 'a different time'?"

Shippo shrugged. "I don't really know, but Kagome says that where she comes from, there's lots of really tall buildings, and she brought me these from her time!" he pulled out a packet of crayons. "She calls this time, 'The Feudal Era.'"

I stared at him. I stared at him without really seeing him. The Feudal Era? I had studied enough history to know that that was around 500 years in the past, give or take a few decades. I had . . . gone back in time?

"Are you okay, Izzy? Your breathing's gone all funny again." Shippo said and as he brought my attention to it, I noticed that the room seemed to spin a little. Crap, I was hyperventilating again. Taking a deep breath, I tried to get my breathing back into a normal pattern. I had to focus on what I knew.

One, I had travelled back in time through a well to the Feudal Era.

Two, in the Feudal Era, demons were real, and I was part demon.

And three, somehow my mom was in this era, but she was apparently younger than the mom I know.

. . .

. . .

. . .

If that's the case, then could my father possibly be in this era too?

To Be Continued . . .

**A/N: Yay! Another chapter! Happy day. :) I really hope that I kept the Inu-characters as close to their character as possible. I'm apologizing in advance for any OOCness. T-T The reason it took so long for me to write this chapter, is because I'm in a musical and it's almost opening night. There may not be another chapter for another week or so. Besides, I like to take time off my writing sometimes. I still feel really good about this story. I don't know how long it's going to be, but, I kinda know what I want to have happen. Let's hope writer's block doesn't rear its ugly head. (crosses fingers)**


	4. Chapter 4: Eventful Meeting

**A/N: So sorry for the wait! After the musical ended, I got sick and then there was Christmas and stuff and I got to see my cousins on my mom's side that I don't see very often . . . Yeah . . . busy distracting stuff . . . but I'm writing again! :) And I've gone back over some of my old stuff and stories and I think I'll be working on my other stories as well so be on the lookout for more update stuff. :)**

**Without further ado! The next chapter! If you want a disclaimer, it's in the first two chapters.**

Chapter 4: Eventful Meeting

Being deemed well enough to get out of the cot and walk around on my own, I now found myself being given a tour of the village courtesy of Sango and Shippo. The latter kept up a constant stream of talking, while the former seemed to give off an intimidating presence.

At first, I thought she was afraid I'd attack people despite my assurances to the contrary. However, as we got into the more crowded places, I noticed more and more people glaring at me and giving me dirty looks. If I had a tail, it would have been curled between my legs. I didn't attack anyone and they were shooting me nasty looks! It was not fair in the slightest. However, I also noticed, that they seemed to look away just as quickly. Though I thought they were just embarrassed to be caught giving the evil eye, I caught Sango shooting a glare of her own at someone who looked like they were about to try and run me off.

I couldn't help but smile. Despite attacking me earlier, I had great respect for this woman. After all, she was only attacking me since she was unsure of my intentions. And, I suppose she could have done much worse if she wished. Now, it seemed the attacker had become a defender as she continuously seemed to discourage any sort of open ill will towards my walking freely around the town.

Then the crowd parted as the most adorable, if not unusual, cat I ever saw came running down the street. Sango's face lit up. "Kirara!" she called out, kneeling down and holding out her arms for the cat sporting two tails who obliged, jumping into them with a happy, 'mew!'

I knelt down as well, wanting to pet the kitty, since I was an animal lover in general and I had three cats at home. "Aw . . . she's adorable!" I cooed, reaching out my hand, but not touching the creature yet. I wasn't going to impose if Sango, or the cat, didn't want me to partake in the petting of the furry creature.

"That's Kirara!" Shippo piped up, smiling widely as Kirara tilted her head into my hand, mewing happily as I pet her.

"She has two tails." I stated, gently brushing my hand up one of them. She was so fluffy!

"That's because she's a demon." Sango stated matter-of-factly, looking at me as though to judge my reaction.

This was probably wise of her since I instantly jerked my hand back as if to protect myself from some sort of contagious disease.

However, right after that I instantly hung my head, ashamed of my own reaction. I had accepted that I wasn't all human, that Shippo was a kitsune and that demons existed. I was also probably half-expecting that explanation for Kirara's additional tail, and yet I still freaked out the instant I heard the word, 'demon'.

Laughter brought me out of my shamed musings and I lifted my head to see Sango laughing at my display. "I can't imagine it's an easy thing for someone who grew up not knowing about demons to adjust to a world where demons are everywhere." She said, now sporting a knowing grin.

I frowned. "Yooou've been talking to Miroku and Kaede haven't you?" I muttered accusingly, drawing out the first 'you' a bit.

Sango grinned. "Miroku and I talked before we even entered the hut to check in on you. Your similarities to people we know were not lost on either of us." She stated and I stiffened.

Shippo looked from Sango to me and back to Sango. "Does this have to do with what Miroku and Kaede were talking about earlier?" he asked.

"You mean about the different time stuff and Kagome and stuff?" I asked in reply, rather dryly. If my father WAS in this time, I'd like to know who the hell he was, but, I don't think I'd be able to beat the crap out of him, because he most likely hadn't abandoned my mom and me yet so he wouldn't know why he was being punished. Asshole.

Sango looked around at the villagers and nodded before standing up. I followed suit, but not before Shippo scurried up my arm and perched himself on my shoulder.

"We should probably go to a bit more of a private venue if we're to continue this conversation." She said, and I nodded, agreeing with her. These villager people did not seem like the most friendly to be around.

Sango led Shippo and me to the outskirts of the village, by the forest, and I wondered if the well was close by since I could smell my mother's scent strongly coming from the forest.

"So, the village guardsmen said you claimed your mother was in this village. I'm assuming because you're part demon you picked up on her scent, but who IS your mother?" Sango asked.

I sighed, Kaede had asked basically the same question. "Her name's Kagome, Kagome Higurashi. She's in her mid thirties having had me while she was only eighteen." I added the last part in because I didn't want to hear the thing of Kagome being too young to be my mother. She was my mother and that was that. If they knew a different aged Kagome Higurashi then it wasn't my fault.

However, Sango didn't seem too fazed about how old my mom was or wasn't, and instead moved onto her next question. "Do you know who your father is?" she asked.

In a way, I had been expecting this question as well. Shaking my head I answered, "He left us right after I was born. I have no idea who he is or how much demon blood's in him since I can't remember him and Mom refuses to speak about him."

Shippo sniffed at me, I could only guess at what he was trying to do, but I think he may have had a hunch as to who my father was. Sango seemed to have an idea as well as her next question was, "Do you have anything that was your father's, Izzy? A robe or . . . a sword or something?" she asked.

Her suggestions sounded a little strange to me, especially the first one since what father would leave their kid a freaking robe. The sword I could understand since there did seem to be a lot of old fashioned weapons around.

I was going to shake my head 'no' when I remembered what my mom had given me the night before . . . before I jumped into the well and the whole fiasco started. Wordlessly, I pulled up the strange necklace from where it had been hiding under my blue shirt and the hood of my blue and green jacket, I showed Sango what had been left to me by my slimeball of a father.

The reaction wasn't entirely what I was expecting. Sango and Shippo's eyes both widened.

"Then you're . . ." Sango started, seeming to be at a loss for words.

"Hey that's . . ." Shippo similarly seemed to be unable to find the correct words as well as he pointed at my necklace.

And my patience snapped like a too tight rubber band.

"I'm what? This is what?" I snapped angrily, pointing to myself and my necklace. I seriously hated being left out of things.

"_Oi! Kagome! Hurry up wench!_" Came a rather gruff voice from the forest. My head turned so fast towards the source I swear I got whiplash.

"Kagome?" I asked, wondering if my mom really was here.

"_If you could just help me every now and then InuYasha we could get back to Kaede, Sango, and Miroku a lot faster!"_ Now a young female voice was snapping. I had heard that voice before . . . only aged and saddened.

"Kagome and InuYasha are back!" Shippo cried happily, bounding straight into the forest.

My mind seeming to be quite numb, I made to follow him, but a hand on my shoulder stopped me and I turned to face Sango, my eyes wide. Kagome . . . my mom . . . the girl who's voice I could hear arguing with the gruff male voice . . . were . . . were they truly the same?

All of a sudden, a ringing cry of 'SIT!' rang through the forrest, followed by a quieter, but still quite audible 'thud'. I could tell that Sango heard at least one of them, most likely the 'sit' since she flinched.

And that's when something interesting happened. The necklace I was wearing gained a blue glow, floating up slightly and freaking me out, making me take a step back even if I couldn't escape what was around my neck.

Sango had also released her hold on me, seeming to be expecting something, but within a few seconds, the glowing had stopped and the beads and teeth necklace settled around my neck once more.

"That was . . . weird." I muttered, pulling the necklace up into my line of sight as I stared quizzically at the bead between my fingers.

"That proves it then." Sango said softly and her broad smile was something I was not expecting. In fact, because it was so unexpected, it scared me a little and I slowly took a few steps away from the woman.

However, it was a useless effort because she moved quickly and threw her arms around me, Kirara mewing cheerfully from somewhere around my ankles.

"Um . . ." I muttered, gently pushing the other away from me, confused, frustration and irritation starting to well up once again.

"What was that about?" I asked, crossing my arms and fixing her with my best, "What the hell was that" stare, which involved one eyebrow going up and which took me forever to master in front of a mirror.

Sango just continued to smile.

"Before I answer, I have a question of my own. If 'Izzy' is your nickname, then what's your real name?" she asked.

I instantly lost my stare, biting my lower lip as I turned away, tugging on my silver hair.

"It's . . . really old-fashioned sounding." I muttered, embarrassed.

Sango then raised her eyebrow. She did it with such ease I had a moment where I wanted to strangle her for being so accomplished in her ability to move one eyebrow without the other even twitching.

"This is the Feudal Era. I doubt your name will be old-fashioned here." She said, and I couldn't help but sigh as my shoulders slumped, feeling rather defeated. I never said my real name if I could help it.

"Izayoi. My name's Izayoi." I muttered, and instantly started pouting a little, looking away from Sango.

I could almost hear the grin in her voice. "I thought it was . . . That really clinches it then. Your parents are Kagome and InuYasha." She said, seeming a bit more excited about this fact than anything else.

A sudden thud returned my senses from the dull state they were in as I tend to ignore them when I'm embarrassed and I realized that my mother's scent was extremely close.

I turned to look and I instantly identified the culprit of the thud. A giant yellow backpack stuffed near to bursting. I could also see Shippo, but the shoulder he was riding on belonged to a girl who I had only seen in photographs. A teenager, probably around my age, with a familiar uniform on, gaped at me.

It was like she had walked straight out of a photograph of one of the old photo albums my mother had. A younger version of the Kagome I knew, but Kagome nonetheless.

"Wh-what?" My mother asked, a blush rising to her cheeks even as incredulity rolled off her scent in waves.

Just then, a young man dressed all in red, wearing the exact same necklace I had around his neck, with hair the exact same shade as my silver stripe, and eyes exactly the same color as mine jumped from the forest.

On his head were two triangular ears. This was the 'ghost' of the Higurashi Shrine. His ears had been mistaken as horns and his outfit was so red, it's no wonder people thought it was blood. And this was the same guy who had told me about the well on the street. How 'something beyond imagination' lay at the bottom of the well. Instictively I knew, this was InuYasha. This was my father.

"And who's she?" he asked, pointing at me, apparently having been talking to my mom before.

Kagome looked at Sango who sighed and put her hands on my shoulders. "Kagome, InuYasha . . . I'd like you to meet Izayoi . . . your daughter."

InuYasha's eyes widened, those eyes that were my exact color . . . the bastard who had deserted Mom and me . . .

Barely aware of what I was doing, a snarl ripping its way out of my throat, I rushed forwards and punched him square on the nose.

"YOU ASSHOLE!" I screamed, a bit more shrilly than I had intended, and . . . realizing that he likely had no idea why I had just punched him and insulted him, my eyes widened and I stared at my fist and at my father who was getting up off the ground, spewing curses.

I couldn't stay . . . I'd hurt someone. I'd vent everything on this stranger, this man who was my father and yet wasn't. And I could tell that my mother was surprised at my actions . . . No . . . she wasn't my mother . . . she hadn't had me yet . . . I didn't belong here!

"Shit- Whoa, are you crying?" InuYasha asked, looking up at me with wide eyes.

I suppose I did have tears . . . that would explain the blurry vision. Not wanting to stay any longer, I turned on my heel and ran. I didn't know where I was going, but I had to get away.

**A/N: So . . . I was planning on ending it with Kagome going 'what' but I decided to continue and make it a bit longer. I really am having a lot of fun with this. Hee. :) Reviews are lovely things! Please send me some!**


	5. Chapter 5: Family and Friends

**A/N: With any luck and inspiration, this story might be getting updated weekly from now on, if not twice weekly. No promises though.**

**Disclaimer: See the first two chapters.**

Chapter 5: Family and Friends

Running proved to be an ineffectual course of action.

The man I was trying to get away from, my father who was not yet my father, InuYasha, suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere, landing right in front of me. I barely avoided running into him, skidding to a halt just in time.

Behind me, I could hear Sango and Shippo calling my name. Though Shippo used my nickname and Sango didn't.

I glared at InuYasha, anger overwhelming the tears I had previously been fighting. InuYasha, however, seemed to be looking at me as though he couldn't figure out what I was.

"Why'd you stop me?" I snapped out.

"Keh. You're the one that ran without reason." He scoffed back.

"I have plenty of reason! I'm not going to share them with _you_!" I said, my voice raising into the levels near screaming.

The two ears on the top of my father's head fell backwards. "Jeeze! Quit your screeching!" he snapped. He then looked at me with suspicion. "Sango said . . ." he suddenly blushed and didn't seem to be able to get out the words.

"That I was yours and Kagome's daughter? I have no idea about you, but Kagome is my mom's name and the girl back there was definitely the younger version of my mom! Maybe it's a coincidence that we have the same necklace, but Sango seems to think it means something." I hissed.

InuYasha's eyes widened and he seemed to see me for the first time. His eyes first went up to see the silver stripe on my head and then he looked me straight in the eyes. Eyes that were the exact same shade as his, glaring at him with anger.

He moved forward, but I stepped back. "Just stay away from me. I don't want anything to do with you!" The words came spewing out of my mouth of their own accord. Something seemed to break in him, but I didn't care. He had hurt my mother and me by not being there. He abandoned us! He deserved to suffer!

And then I realized, I was doing it again. This man wasn't yet my father and I was punishing him for something he hadn't done yet! So what was I supposed to do? I couldn't forgive him for what he did, but how was I supposed to begrudge him when he hadn't done it yet?

I felt a headache growing and I covered my eyes with my hand, trying to get it to go away. "Ugh. This whole time thing is confusing." I murmured.

Just then I felt warm, strong arms envelop me and I peeked through my fingers to see that InuYasha had hugged me.

"I'm sorry." Came his gruff voice, slightly reluctant, and I guessed that was from pride since embarrassment and shame was heavy in his scent. "I . . . I don't know what I did . . . but . . . I'm sorry."

I could feel the tears coming up again as my anger fled. And before I knew it, they were streaming from my eyes as I broke down in sobs.

InuYasha clearly didn't seem to be expecting this since he jumped back, a panicked expression on his face. "Hey! What the hell are you crying for wench? That wasn't supposed to make you cry!" he shouted at me, and the scene was just so funny that even as I sobbed, I couldn't help but laugh.

Just then, Shippo ran in, closely followed by Kagome and Sango. "Izzy!" he called out and came to stand by my leg before glaring at InuYasha.

"Jeeze InuYasha! First she punches you and now you make her cry? You must be the worst father ever!" he snapped.

"Watch it runt." InuYasha growled, but his ears lowered and he looked at me before looking away, seeming guilty or . . . afraid. Afraid? Of what?

My train of thought was suddenly derailed as I was caught in yet another unexpected hug. And, suddenly, I found myself spun around to face the younger version of my mother who stood back to hold me at arm's length as she looked me over. Her eyes were wide as though she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You're . . . really my daughter?" she asked softly.

Shippo scurried up to sit on my shoulder again. "Well she smells really similar to you Kagome."

"Well, it's either I'm your daughter, or you happen to have the exact same scent as my mom." I stated, shrugging a little.

Kagome's eyes widened. "You can smell scents like InuYasha?" she asked and then suddenly her eyes got very wide and she then blushed heavily before she turned away from both me and InuYasha. That triggered something in my head as I looked from my mother to my father who looked puzzled at Kagome's sudden action.

My eyes widened as well. "Wait. Wait one damned minute! You guys aren't even TOGETHER?" I asked, my voice rising in pitch at the end. If they . . . weren't together . . . and they didn't get together . . . then I wouldn't be born! That was a very bad thing!

"Why the hell aren't you together?" I asked, a little panicked from the thoughts running through my head.

At that point, InuYasha looked away and Kagome stiffened. I could feel the tension in the air thicken to the consistency of glue as silence fell over everyone. I instantly knew that I had stepped onto a taboo subject.

"Kikyou."

The word was the barest murmur from my father, but through the silence, it rang clearly through the area.

"Who . . . who's Kikyou?" I asked, almost afraid to put the question out there.

Suddenly, my mom started running off back to the village. My father jumped up after her. "Kagome!" he called, but before he could reach her, he was instantly driven into the ground by his necklace as she hissed out the word, 'sit.'

Again, my necklace did the strange, blue, glow, floaty thing, but I wasn't really paying attention. It seemed that if there was a wedge in my parent's relationship at this time, I had just drove it even deeper.

"Kikyou was a priestess who InuYasha had a relationship with around fifty years ago before it ended in tragedy." Sango said, causing me to jump. She had been pretty much silent throughout the whole ordeal so I had nearly forgotten that she was there.

"Tragedy?" I asked, wondering if I had heard right. Fifty years? How long could demons live?

"They were tricked by the demon Naraku, an enemy we, and many others, are working to destroy. In the end, Naraku, disguised as InuYasha, dealt Kikyou a mortal wound and in her final moments, she sealed the real InuYasha to a tree." Sango elaborated.

"I can hear ya, ya know." InuYasha's gruff voice came as he pulled himself from the dirt. Without another word, and without waiting for a response from us, he jumped into the trees and headed in the opposite direction from where my mom went. I tracked the bright color of the red robe he was wearing as he moved from tree to tree, but eventually it was lost as leaves and branches blocked my vision.

I was still confused though. "If . . . if she died . . . then why can't he . . . I dunno . . . move on?"

Shippo and Sango exchanged a glance. And then Sango sighed. "We should head back to Kaede's if we're going to tell the story." She murmured softly.

And so, I allowed Sango to lead me back into the village, but I was even more confused than I had been before.

To be continued . . .

**A/N: Okay, in case anyone wants to know what Izzy looks like, I've drawn a picture of her and she's up on my DeviantART account. Look for username Blue-Mouse007. I may or may not try to color the drawing, but, for now, you can go and see what she looks like. I'm still going to try and describe things better, but that's definitely not my strongsuit. Review please!**


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